We are changing the hourly rates charged for Sundays, holidays, or other overtime work performed by employees of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for any person, firm, or corporation having ownership, custody, or control of regulated commodities or articles subject to agricultural inspection, laboratory testing, certification, or quarantine under the regulations. We are increasing these overtime rates for each of the fiscal years 2016 through 2018 to reflect the anticipated costs associated with providing these services during each year. Establishing the overtime rate changes in advance will allow users of APHIS' services to incorporate the rates into their budget planning. We are also clarifying the regulations to indicate that agricultural inspections performed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may be billed in accordance with DHS overtime regulations for services performed outside of regular business hours, as DHS rates may differ from those charged by APHIS.

We will consider all comments that we receive on or before June 24, 2014.

7 CFR Part 354

Summary

We are proposing to change the hourly rates charged for Sundays, holidays, or other overtime work performed by employees of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for any person, firm, or corporation having ownership, custody, or control of regulated commodities or articles subject to inspection, laboratory testing, certification, or quarantine under the regulations. We are proposing to increase these overtime rates for each of the fiscal years 2014 through 2018 to reflect the anticipated costs associated with providing these services during each year. Establishing the overtime rate changes in advance would allow users of APHIS' services to incorporate the rates into their budget planning. We are also proposing to clarify the regulations to indicate that agricultural inspections performed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may be billed in accordance with DHS overtime regulations for services performed outside of regular business hours, as DHS rates may differ from those charged by APHIS.